Beginnings
by veeeeee
Summary: This is Clove's backstory. Why she wanted to volunteer, what her life was before the 74th Hunger Games, and for who all of the pain was.


**A/N: Here it is! My first Hunger Games fanfic! Well, I really wanted to make a story about Clove, our favorite knife throwing tribute from District 2, mainly because the books didn't give any of the readers the chance to take a look inside her life. This means that I got to have a lot of fun thinking up her back story. And I really hope I gave her justice. Oh, there's also going to be Cato's back story in this one, but I'm not gonna elaborate on him as much as Clove. Hope you guys enjoy, and reviews are always welcome :)**

**DISCLAIMER: Hunger Games isn't mine, it's all Suzanne Collins'!**

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><p><strong>CHAPTER 1<strong>

Clove woke up startled as she heard someone moan in the room next to her. "Chase!" she shouted out while pulling the covers off her body, almost breaking the door as she pushed it open. When she reached the other side of the hallway and got into the next room, she saw her brother next to his bed on the floor, twisting in pain.

"Chase, are you okay? What the hell were you trying to do?"

"I was just getting up to go to the bathroom, and I tripped. Look, its no big deal Clove."

"No big deal huh? Well I don't think you on the floor, waking me up with your screams can be classified as not being a big deal" She helped him get up to his feet and led him out his door to the bathroom. This proved to be a difficult task seeing as her brother was significantly taller than her

"Well," Chase looking down at her, "are you going to watch me pee too? Get out!" He slammed the door in her face.

"I'll be right here when you're done okay?" Clove called out. "Yes, I know, now shut up so I can do my business!"

Clove leaned against a wall and waited for her brother to be done. A few minutes later, the door opened and her brother was towering over her, showing no sign of weakness after the earlier incident. Chase looked exactly like her. They had the same big dark brown eyes, the same raven black hair, same nose, same mouth, same everything. The only difference was that Chase cut his hair short, like a buzzcut, while Clove had her long wavy black hair down to the middle of her back. A lot of people said that if Chase wore a wig, he would look completely like Clove. Except for the whole height thing. This isnt really surprising though. Identical twins are supposed to look alike.

"Did you take your medicine while you were in there?" Clove asked.

"Yeah I did." he answered. "But honestly, I don't know why you bother to remind me. It's not like those pills are gonna save me. They're just prolonging the inevitable."

Chase looked down and saw the pain in her sister's eyes. He immediately realized that he said the wrong thing. He walked over to her and whispered "I'm sorry Clove. I know it hurts, but it's the truth. We can't really pretend that I'm not dying. Ignoring the problem won't solve anything."

"I'm not planning to ignore anything. I told you, I have a plan to save you." Clove looked up at her brother, all the pain in her eyes replaced by a steely determination.

"And I told you that you have a shitty plan and that I don't support it at all."

"It's not like I have much of a choice now, do I?" Clove pulled away from her brother's arms. "Come on, let's get some breakfast. I have to go down to the Training Center early today."

Chase stared at her sister as she bounded down the stairs. Clove has always been stubborn. He knew her well enough to know that no amount of convincing or pleading will make her change her mind. But still, he didn't want his sister to do this. It was too dangerous. And he knew that if this disease doesn't kill him, seeing his sister get murdered in the Arena surely will.

She was always telling him that this won't happen. That when she goes into the Hunger Games, she's sure that she'll win. Sometimes he believes her. He's seen her in training, throwing those knives. He's heard other people commenting about how lethal she is and how they wouldn't want to be thrown in the Games with her. But in his mind, Clove will never be the killer that other people see her to be. To him, she'll always be the little girl in the white dress, ribbons in her hair, chasing after him in their front yard. Sweet little Clove who cries when she falls over and scrapes her knee, but would be laughing and giggling moments later when he tries to cheer her up.

He blames himself, for turning Clove into the girl that she is today. If it weren't for him, things would be normal and they would be happy. Clove wouldn't have this obssession with winning the Games and he wouldn't be so worried about her going into them.

They never had to worry about Reaping Day. Compared to the other people living in District 2, they were pretty well off. Their father was Head Peacekeeper. In other districts, this might not be a guarantee of a wealthy life, but here in District 2, being Head Peacekeeper was almost equivalent to being the Mayor. Their family lived in a big house in the nicer part of the district and they always had enough to eat, so they never had to take out any tessarae. This put the odds in their favor. Their names would not be put in more times, and they didnt have to worry about getting reaped. Not that anyone else in their district did worry. District 2 never had a shortage of kids wanting to volunteer. But Chase always thought that if he or her sister were reaped, someone else would volunteer to take their place. Never did he imagine that Clove would be the one who wanted to volunteer.

It was all his fault. Chase still remembers that fateful day when everything in their lives changed. Winter was upon them and the first fall of snow arrived. They were 10 years old at that time. Clove was so excited. She loved the snow. He remembers how she burst through his room, shouting at him to get dressed because they were going to play outside. They were running out the door, their father reminding them to be careful because the snow was slippery. The two shouted back to their father that they would be careful as they hurried outside to their spacious front yard. Clove was on the ground, making snow angels while Chase was making snowballs, preparing to surprise his sister with an attack later on.

Clove looked around her and noticed that none of their other neighbors were outside playing. They should be, seeing as the children were about their age. They should be outside playing with them. But they weren't. Their neighbors weren't those kind of people. They lived in an affluent place, where the Mayor and other important city officials lived. And their children never came out to play. They never came out to have fun. Clove thought to herself, "Well, it's their loss" and turned around to find her brother.

When she couldnt see him, she panicked, until she saw him lying face first in the snow. Then the panic stopped, replaced with hysterics. She shouted as loud as she can for her father, calling for help to anyone who can hear her. Her father rushed out and checked on Chase, and she noticed that a couple of her neighbors were peering outside their windows too. In a matter of minutes, they were surrounded by people looking for a good gossip. The Head Peacekeeper's son has just collapsed, this had to be good. They rushed Chase to the hospital, and here the change in Clove began.

The doctors were trying to explain to them Chase's situation, but Clove wasn't paying much attention. She cared more for how they can fix him than the specifics of what was wrong with him. Something about his heart not doing what it was supposed to do. She was getting impatient.

"They should hurry up and tell us what to do to help him get better!" she told her father as they sat in the waiting room of the hospital.

"I'm afraid I can't do anything at this point." the doctor, suddenly appearing at their side told them.

"What do you mean you can't do anything? Is this an issue of money? Because we have money!" Clove's father said, frustration creeping in his voice.

"Mr. Hill, I don't think you understand what I'm saying. The care that Chase needs, you can't get it here in District 2. I'm sorry, but money isn't the issue here." the doctor replied.

"So what are you saying to me? That I should just watch my son die?"

"We can give him some pills that might help with the pain he's going to be feeling, and some medication that will prevent the damage from getting more severe, but that's about all we can do. I am so sorry."

Clove watched as her father screamed some more, letting out all the rage that he had at the doctor and several medical trays that were by his side. She's never seen him get this angry before, even when their mother died a couple of years ago. He seemed more depressed than mad back then. Come to think of it, Clove should be feeling furious too. Who was this man to tell them that there's nothing they can do to save her twin? But instead of feeling furious, she felt desperate. Chase was her other half. No one can just take him away from her. And Clove was going to make sure that no one ever will.

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><p><strong>Reviews are always welcome, positive or negative. Tell me if I'm onto something good here, okay? :)<strong>


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